Jess RothenbergReseñas

A massive twist on Disney & the Princesses, think a YA Westworld for those looking for an escape. This is a world of ideal perfection. There is an underlying theme of sex slavery. The POV of the lead Fantastist, Ana, allows the reader to truly feel her confusion, hurt, & desire to “break the firewall” and be free.

3.5 Stars

This one intrigued me in part because I loved the original version of The Unlikely Death and its questions of ethics. Unfortunately this YA book didn't go quite that deep--it was definitely reaching for bigger concepts, but just didn't quite get there. Still, the concept was interesting, the (clearly) Disney-esque park was amazingly described in all its disbelief-defying glory.

This was a fun, quick read, but one that does require a good bit of suspension of disbelief. The logic of the park starts breaking down pretty quickly if you think about it: how are the animals "evolving" if they're dying young or acting up and getting killed? Why would any Disney-esque corporation risk bad publicity by pushing one of its older models to its limits? Why would there be only seven fantasists spread so thinly across the park, and why would they be allowed to cluster together instead of mingling with guests?

If anything, I would have liked even more description of the Kingdom. We have no real sense of how long the fantasists have been around, how fashions in the park might have changed. What does Ana remember? It would have been interesting to know more about their dresses and merchandising, and especially to have a "who's who" so we can tell the sisters apart and know what countries/regions they represent. Nia and Eve had their special performances, but what is Ana's? I was also a little disappointed that it didn't end up being Ana on the cover. I was imagining her kind of like Disney's Mulan and then out of nowhere we're told she has red hair. So then I started thinking of her kind of like, well, Ana from Frozen. Not sure if that's intentional or not.

An enjoyable, what-happens-next read with exciting moments, some things to think about--if not quite philosophize on--and an okay requisite YA romance with, at least, a someone who wasn't white. But also a lot of darkness in the shadows. Like, a LOT of darkness: implied rape/sexual assault of basically all the fantasists except, somehow, Ana; and overtly there's cutting, suicide, murder, and the attempted murder of a child. But somehow the glossy Disney-esque coating keeps it from hitting too hard. Still. If you're the kind of person who prefers warnings before reading, you'll want them here.

Quote Roundup These haven't been quotes much lately, have they?

p. 106) Not a spoiler. The fantasists say a bedtime *prayer* to the Kingdom. Or themselves, it's not totally clear. This really threw me out of the story, it was just so much above and beyond over the top of ridiculousness. I mean, I'm sure there are corporations that would love to have their employees recite a pledge of allegiance and all, but a prayer just seems too much for a not-too-distant future.

p. 153) Again, not a spoiler, but even with a bit of an explanation eventually, it just seems like the wifi is way spottier throughout the Kingdom than it should be. Especially considering that there are alternatives, like satellite tracking, it's just a little to deus-ex-machina convenient.

I found this book because we were forced to stop during a road trip, and I walked by a bookshelf before going back to the car. The cover got my attention, but the story grabbed me immediately when I realized the setting and the plot. Disney princess meets Westworld. One of the park princesses (android) is accused of murder. We follow the investigation and unroll the events from the start until the murder is explained. It's a fast pacing read, and I really enjoyed it.

I really wanted to like this. I've been on a Westworld kick, and was excited to read something in the same vein. But unfortunately, The Kingdom just didn't meet my exceptions. It doesn't read young adult until it gets to the love-at-first-site with Cade, and then it reads really young adult. There's your typical boy who knows secrets and important things, and the typical naive innocent girl whom he swears to protect.

Perhaps if more time had been spent on the actual trial and sowing uncertainty about Ana's sentience, I would have enjoyed it more. But it seems Rothenberg didn't quite know how to write that part convincingly, and so skips past important moments and discards the ambiguity. We KNOW Ana and Cade are in love. and so are not worried about the results of the trial.

Too predictable and, honestly, poorly written for me.

Actual Rating: 4.5

Dang!

You know that episode of Sailor Moon where they go to the theme park and it’s all robot animals and princesses? That’s how I envisioned The Kingdom. (The ending when the robot princess tries to kill everyone included.)

This book was really good. Based on the synopsis I was expecting a lot of romance - maybe one that didn’t end in a happily ever after, considering Ana is on trial for killing Owen but romance nonetheless. But that really wasn’t the main plot of the book. It was a solid thriller that also dealt with the ethics behind artificial intelligence and human intervention in terms of animal extinction and conservation.

It definitely felt like a science fiction YA Gone Girl but also a little Jurassic Park because “life, uh, finds a way.”

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I just wanted to love this book and I'm just sad that I didn't.

I expected to absolutely L O V E this book because this is how it was sold to me:
- a dystopian amusement park labeled as mystery

…that’s it, that's all I knew. I was absolutely sold with just that and I am still disappointed.

— overall thoughts: 2.0 —

I flew through this book if thats a consolation… probably because I didn’t really care about what was happening and people, actually the automatons or whatever you call them, were dying and disappearing, left and right, and I absolutely could not care less. I didn't get a sense of danger or anticipation, things just happened.

As I said I actually went into this book expecting to like it and I actually did, at first. I am a big fan of morality topics being discussed in a dystopia kind of world (i.e. Arc of a Scythe) that was really the only saving grace but even that… wasn’t explored??

Which weighed heavily for me since that’s basically what I read the book for. I wanted to more talk about how these automatons came into play but all Ana kept talking about was how she kept getting epiphanies but how she wasn’t supposed to be getting these epiphanies cuz she’s a robot and owen owen owen owen owen.

“Why would someone say a story that isn’t true? Maybe because it’s fun to believe in a fantasy.
It helps them feel better about their own lives. Even if the story doesn’t end well.”

The theme park and its rules weren't really fully laid out, they were just thrown here and there to justify an action which brings me to my next point.

I absolutely hated the romance. It felt so rushed and Owen is the embodiment of the basic male love interest. There was just nothing that made him different to me and he wasn't like... his own person, if you get what I mean. I couldn't separate him as a character aside from being the love interest.

They were literally about to die or get caught and he literally STOPS AND SAYS: "You're perfect." LIKE ?!? I hate it when dystopia stories force a romance like, just give me the story without all these lovey dovey because I didn't come here for that. If I wanted the lovey dovey, I'll be over there reading a contemporary romance. Contemporary romances had a less basic love story than this to be honest.

I had no attachments with the characters whatsoever and this is coming from a person who gets emotionally attached to the protagonist’s pet animals (*cough* church, mister kindly, eclipse *cough*). and Ana kept saying she was “evolving” somehow but like… why???…how???…we all knew that this is the "I'm not like every other girl” trope (which I'm starting to hate now) but I need an explanation as to how we got here!! especially since this is a sci-fi novel

Being in Ana's head and experiencing all the story through her was also annoying because her dialogue and thoughts were so stiff which fits with her being a hybrid, but then when she out of the blue states that she feels something else and is supposedly 'Evolving' into something more, she is still stiff and annoying.

It's important to note that I am a person who has loved lovey-dovey books in the past okay. I am a Jennifer E. Smith maniac.

Here have a small list of quotes I found stupid in the later 50% of the book because I came here for the sci-fi:
- “I never meant to fall in love with you”
- I quote “When I met you...something changed.”
- And OF COURSE, they had to use the “it’s better to have love and lost than to never have loved at all”
- “You’re perfect”

The mystery. WHY is this labeled as a mystery. Actually, I get why but that part of the plot is just so extra non-sensical to me because they spent more time talking about how they fell in love rather than the mystery aspect of it. Not that it was so blaringly obvious to me but when they revealed it, I was just sitting on my bed going like "oh."

where is the build-up?? all the interview and courtroom scenes honestly did not even give me that much information. it was everything we all knew.

I came in here for the mystery okay. I was expecting a good mystery.

This book had SO much potential: if this had a darker tone and the amusement park system and the outside world was explained and explored more, I feel like I could have loved this. And of course if I was actually attached to the characters.
- scenes feel jumpy

I like stereotypical plots when I ask for it and are done in an enjoyable manner, don’t get me wrong. But when I’m reading SCI-FI/DYSTOPIA I expect THE CRAZIEST PLOT YOU CAN THINK OF that STILL MAKE SENSE!!

plot: ★★★☆☆
writing style: ★★☆☆☆
world building: ★★☆☆☆
characters: ★★☆☆☆
themes: ★★★☆☆
pacing: ★★★☆☆
page turner: ★★★☆☆

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I wasn't sure I would like this, but after finishing it I'm kind of surprised by how much it gave me to think about. It's perfect for teens who want a murder mystery/thriller with a dystopian twist, and the framing of a trial, post-trial interviews, and pre-trial events works really well.

What I found most fascinating though is the Disney/Sea World corporate clone as deeply authoritarian and rotten to the core dystopian society. The closing arguments and verdict in the trial felt so realistic, and I think that's what tipped this into a four star read for me. As much as I enjoy individual Disney properties, and even their parks, I can't help look at this list of companies they own and find myself wondering what isn't getting made because Disney has a specific vision that's guidng SO MANY properties. It isn't hard to go from that to the story threads of this book, which makes for a super creepy and satisfying read. I highly recommend it.

(This review will be available on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Soemthing Year Old Girl from the middle of August).


I'd been wanting to read The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg for awhile now. I had found it cheap on Amazon and decided to buy it. Although it was a kind of good book, I wish I had seen if my library had it to borrow.

I don't really need to explain the synopsis in my words because the official one seems to describe what the book is about quite well. If I explain it, I'd just be saying the same thing, but not as good.

The title is a mouthful, but I like it. It's one of the first things that made me want to pick up this book. I do believe that the title fits this book perfectly!

The cover is what caught my eye the most! It is absolutely gorgeous! It's also a scene that appears in the book a few times.

The world building was done quite well, and I loved the setting! I love how when Brie dies, she's transported by bus to a pizza place she frequented quite a bit. There's something about that that I just found funny! There's only one time that I felt confused, but I don't want to say anything due to spoilers. Oh, and one more thing. Brie says her family called her by cheese nicknames due to her name. However, Patrick as well as other people she sees in the afterlife due that as well. However, I just don't think everyone would associate her name with cheese, nor would they be so blatant to tease her about it. Other then that, the world building is easy to imagine.

For about half of the book, the pacing seemed a bit slow to me. In fact, I was thinking about giving up on the book altogether. However, the second half picks up the pacing, and it becomes quite an enjoyable read from there on out..

I've always been interested in plots where someone dies and gets to look at their friends and family. Brie wants to get back at Jacob in the afterlife for breaking her heart. She sees the consequences, and we are left to wonder what Brie will do. We also find out Jacob's big secret which I didn't see coming. I also didn't see the other plot twist. I love being surprised!!

I started off liking Brie. She seemed like a really insecure but nice girl. However, I soon found her to be annoying and mean. I understand wanting revenge on someone who has hurt you, but what she did was really uncalled for. I also found her thought pattern to be really vicious and spiteful. I didn't like how she treated Patrick either. She tries to make amends, but it's just too little, too late for me. I did like Patrick and found him to be a rather sweet and friendly guy. The way he spoke sometimes annoyed me, but overall, he was very likable.

The dialogue was very easy to understand and flowed very well. Like I said, there were times I didn't like the way Patrick spoke, but that wasn't very often. I found it interesting to see how Brie's family and friends carried on without her. There's also some swearing in this book.

Overall, The Catastrophic History of You and Me started out a bit boring, but it got better. It turns out to be a sweet story with a moral to it, I believe.

I'd recommend this book to those age 14 who are looking for a sweet read with a great message attached to it.

I'd give The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg a 3.5 out of 5.

Student Review by: Arleliah H. (10th grade)

Grades: 9-12
Characterization: Good
Literary value: Very good
Recommendation: Recommended

Anna and her sisters are Fantasists (human-android hybrids) who were created to be the main attraction of The Kingdom, a theme park where all your dreams can come true. They must follow strict rules and schedules and are forbidden from leaving the park or having access to the outside world. If they disobey, they risk being shut down. Essentially they are in a prison of sorts; they are even strapped to their beds at night. The book goes back and forth between two time periods. The main plot of the novel takes place in the year 2094. Ana is beginning to figure out that her world may not be as perfect as it once seemed. There are also flashforwards to two years later when Ana is on trial for murdering Owen Chen, a maintenance worker in the park who she had become friends with. Throughout the novel, Ana learns that she can't trust everybody who she is close to and that she has to be secretive to try to find things out.

The first thing that drew me in about this book was the cover, it's so pretty and interesting. It just pops out at you. I really like the writing style of this book, in particular how the author shows Ana's perspective at two different times. The author did a good job of building suspense by including scenes of what was to come in the future. At some points in the novel, I was frustrated by all of the twists and wanted to stop reading, but I ended up not being disappointed by the end. I felt Ana's character was most developed, she was the only one we truly saw in depth. She was likable, and the way she thought about things made sense (most of the time) as if she actually was learning feelings against her reprogramming. Most of her sisters just seemed like minor afterthought characters. Even Owen who was an important part of the story felt like just a prop sometimes. When it comes to the end of the book. I felt it was a little rushed and unrealistic, I wish more had been put into building the romance. I did like how unpredictable it was though. I would definitely consider reading more by this author if she has other books similar to this, and I would encourage people to read this book.

This was cute (:

Obviously not quite as cute as this:


But still, cute.

-full review to come..-

Over & Out, T xx

This was cute (:

Obviously not quite as cute as this:


But still, cute.

-full review to come..-

Over & Out, T xx

Ana is a hybrid, half-android, half human. She is one of 7 fantasists, who live in The Kingdom, a magical theme park. Ana has been accused of murdering Owen, a park employee. The book alternates between the past, trial snippets, and the time period immediately after the trial.

This was a fascinating book. I could not put it down. It was a very interesting world, and the alternating chapters worked very well. I look forward to reading more from this author. Overall, highly recommended.

This is a YA version of Westworld, where Ana, a hybrid (part human-part machine) princess in a Disney-esque fantasy land, slowly learns that not all is well in The Kingdom. In this gripping mystery/thriller/courtroom drama, Ana uncovers a dark secret with the help of her sister princesses and intriguing maintenance worker, that eventually leads to betrayal and violence. An interesting book well worth reading with great twists.

I really enjoyed this YA fantasy/sci-fi book. It’s set in a futuristic Disney World type park where the princesses are human hybrids (part machine, part human and called Fantasists). Things start to go wrong in the park and eventually someone is killed. Ana, one of the Fantasists is held for questioning.

The book is mostly from Ana’s perspective but also has some scenes from the Trial taking place and other outside sources. Everything together forms a disturbing picture of this supposed wonderland theme park.

This book was incredibly well put together, very creative, and engaging. I really enjoyed it a lot! There’s lot of food for thought here around AI and humanity’s need for entertainment and distraction from the world around them.

Overall this was an awesome book. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but it worked really well and was incredibly engaging. I would recommend to those who are interested in robots and AI, a good mystery, or just love reading about amusement parks.

The Catastrophic History of You and Me was about Brie whose life ends when her boyfriend breaks up with her, and she literally dies of a broken heart. After her death Brie is now in the afterlife and trying to navigate through it all. She meets Patrick who helps her in the after life, along with some familiar faces. Along with going back to the real world for revenge on Jacob and to help her family, as much as she can, get through her death.

I bought this book on a whim because it sounded interesting and it was only 4 dollars. I'm glad I did. I finished the book in one day, I could not put it down. A beautiful, heartbreaking book that made me feel every emotion. From sadness to love to anger. The writing style of Jess Rothenburg is convincing and beautiful. An amazing first novel and I can't wait for more of her books.

In life we have funerals and wakes for the living, they have never been for the dead. And afterwards we always talk about the five stages of grief that loved ones go through. But this book shows the five stages of grief that the dead may have to go through, an idea I never thought of and will give readers a new perspective on the idea of an afterlife. Beautifully written and an emotional roller coaster that everyone should read.

4.5/5

Ce livre m'a coupé le souffle. Déja, les personnages sont terriblement réalistes, pleins d'humour et attachants. Ensuite l'histoire vous entraîne sur un terrain auquel vous ne vous attendiez pas. Et la fin, tellement belle que vous n'avez pas envie de refermer le livre. Gros, gros coup de cœur.

Great YA book...and no vampires! Brie, the main character, grows and develops as a character in a very satisfying way. Well written. I think it should be a SC young adult book award nominee..who do I tell?

I do not even know what to write about this book. This was a total cover buy from my local library. I thought it was your typical contemporary romance, but then I saw on Goodreads that this was Fantasy and Paranormal. I have been putting off reading it since I saw that. When I saw this was part of the Audible romance section, I decided it was time to give it a try. The sections are broken up into the Stages of Grief and I felt anger, acceptance, and sadness while reading this.

I would not say this was fantasy, as this deals with a 15 year old who passes away and is in the afterlife. I had Ghost (the movies) vibes in this, but with so much more to it than that. Brie is reflecting back on her life (friends, family, losing her life at such a young age). There were times were it was very sad, and there are some twists and turns along the way. I did not see the twist coming at all!

I loved that each chapter was a song name, and songs were used throughout. There were also several Disney references which I also enjoyed.

This was definitely an unexpected read for me, but I really enjoyed it.

I LOVED IT SO MUCH IT WAS SO GOOD

I just finished this one and would definitely recommend it to young adult readers....
I usually enjoy YA, but this one border lined on being a tad too juvenile for me.
It played off of quirky parts and left out the romance I desired.
It's about a girl who is "Dead and Gone". She walks us through her life after death and also shows us what led up to that pivotal night.

When she reaches heaven she meets a boy and they instantly click. Together they go back to earth and give her ex a little dose of his own medicine. As their time together progresses Brie realizes that maybe there was more to her death than she thought.

Secrets are slowly revealed and the ending will leave your jaw on the ground!
I didn't expect the turn it took, but it added to the storyline for sure.



While the story was fast paced and intriguing... I think it is DEFINITELY for teens and not for a woman in her twenties. When I read that it was for fans of Before I Fall I thought I would enjoy, but this one fell short. The writing wasn't as mature in this one.

The Catastrophic History of You and Me is a somewhat lackluster romance set in the afterlife. Sixteen-year-old Brie dies of a broken heart, literally, and is sentenced to a sort of afterlife transit station that takes the appearance of a diner. There, she meets Patrick, who died of mysterious causes back in the 80s and who takes it upon himself to show her around and help her resolve her unresolved issues with Life so she can pass on. She spies on her family and sees that they're taking her death extremely hard, she spies on her friends and comes to all the wrong conclusions, and also there's evil soulless people wandering around trying to ruin her afterlife.

The protagonist was really annoying. Brie is very immature at the start of the book, and she has a steep learning curve, which was cool, but still, wow, just really selfish and irritating most of the time. She goes through the five stages of grief in regards to her own death, and at first is determined to rejoin life as she knew it. This leads her to spying on her old life and the people in it, since she can't actually interact with them. She has to figure out why her boyfriend broke up with her (accidentally killing her, and this just seemed so silly, anyway), why her parents are having such issues, and whether her best friend horribly betrayed her or not. The way she deals with all of these revelations was very engaging. Everyone is grieving, including Brie, who has lost everything she's ever known, and they all deal with it differently. Watching Brie grow and hang on to her old relationships while accepting her own demise was my favorite part of the book.
The Big Danger and Climax at the end seemed really contrived. It was really strange and fantastical, and jarred with the complete normality of the rest. Patrick's history was also very strange revelation. Like, he did WHAT? and then SHE did what? And she lost her memory because WHY? And then there's all these deals to make sure everyone gets to keep their respective souls and I DON'T EVEN KNOW.

I guess this book just really wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't ever quite connect with Brie or Patrick (I was more interested in the supporting cast, to be honest) and the "world" of the afterlife never did make much sense.

(review also posted on my blog, bahnree.blogspot.com)

The Catastrophic History of You and Me is a somewhat lackluster romance set in the afterlife. Sixteen-year-old Brie dies of a broken heart, literally, and is sentenced to a sort of afterlife transit station that takes the appearance of a diner. There, she meets Patrick, who died of mysterious causes back in the 80s and who takes it upon himself to show her around and help her resolve her unresolved issues with Life so she can pass on. She spies on her family and sees that they're taking her death extremely hard, she spies on her friends and comes to all the wrong conclusions, and also there's evil soulless people wandering around trying to ruin her afterlife.

The protagonist was really annoying. Brie is very immature at the start of the book, and she has a steep learning curve, which was cool, but still, wow, just really selfish and irritating most of the time. She goes through the five stages of grief in regards to her own death, and at first is determined to rejoin life as she knew it. This leads her to spying on her old life and the people in it, since she can't actually interact with them. She has to figure out why her boyfriend broke up with her (accidentally killing her, and this just seemed so silly, anyway), why her parents are having such issues, and whether her best friend horribly betrayed her or not. The way she deals with all of these revelations was very engaging. Everyone is grieving, including Brie, who has lost everything she's ever known, and they all deal with it differently. Watching Brie grow and hang on to her old relationships while accepting her own demise was my favorite part of the book.
The Big Danger and Climax at the end seemed really contrived. It was really strange and fantastical, and jarred with the complete normality of the rest. Patrick's history was also very strange revelation. Like, he did WHAT? and then SHE did what? And she lost her memory because WHY? And then there's all these deals to make sure everyone gets to keep their respective souls and I DON'T EVEN KNOW.

I guess this book just really wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't ever quite connect with Brie or Patrick (I was more interested in the supporting cast, to be honest) and the "world" of the afterlife never did make much sense.

(review also posted on my blog, bahnree.blogspot.com)

Why did I cry? I'm not that emotional really but this book brought out these tears that are glistening in my eyes.

This book is just wonderful. Just that and nothing else.

Why did I cry? I'm not that emotional really but this book brought out these tears that are glistening in my eyes.

This book is just wonderful. Just that and nothing else.